Seeing Red

This past weekend was one of many colors: The white of the Nor'easter, the orange of jack-o-lanterns, and the red...lots of red. Here are my top "red lines":

1. Cardinal Signs
I began the day yesterday walking the dogs, dressed all in red. I just had to wear my pride on my sleeve, chest, and back in the form of my Stanford long-sleeved tee. And there are, of course, the plural Cardinals to celebrate as well, the St. Louis Cardinals. Later, after setting up the haunted house for four hours, we got hungry. And the day got interesting.
Daughter and I went out for lunch. I was thinking Sonic, but she mentioned Taco Bell. Realizing that I only wanted to spend the 15 ones I had in my pocket (left over from the school Halloween Dance), I went with her suggestion to get the box of 12 tacos for a little over $10. That left enough for a giant chalupa! But, it also meant that we were, unintentionally, purchasing a Pac-12. I'm still in my Stanford shirt when we go inside. The kid who took our order wore a name badge--he is Leland--as in Leland Stanford's University (or LSU). Just goes to show you can find synchronicity anywhere when you're looking for it!

2. Over the (tree) Top
No, this isn't another Stanford story. This is a National Weather Service rant. Not the same old rant though--the one where they blew every forecast last winter when calling for snow. They must've called the wrong number because even here in Colorado, winter never came.
This time I'm exorcized over a new foul--hyperbole. I know that this weekend's Nor-Easter caused deaths and power outages and both those are serious events. But what did the NWS call the storm? "Absolute tree carnage." Really. I thought I was seeing the red when it came to that agency but I guess they're seeing it now...everywhere, even in trees.

3. Cain's Refrain
Mr. Cain may have a credibility problem. Yes, he's about to speak about the sexual harassment charges that dogged him in the '90s, but let's set that--again a serious issue--aside and look at his response so far. First, his people go after the press and "liberals". Then, when confronted on the street outside CBS News Headquarters by Politico's Jonathan Martin, Cain goes to the old standby response. Martin asks Cain four times whether or not he's ever been accused of sexual harassment and Cain finally replies with this: "Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?" You'll recall, of course, the "Uzbeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan" quip. Same tactic. Then, in a related matter, Cain says to America's youth, "Don't smoke". But if smoking--with the Mark Block ad--has become a symbol of his campaign, is he then running to be the President of only the United States of Adults? More likely this is an instance of "do as I say not as I (say it's okay to) do." That brings me back to the "have you ever been?" and "do you know the leader of?" responses. Just sounds a little too "nah-nah-nah-nah-nah" to me.

4. Red-y for Prime Time (Standup)
Oh Rick. Why must I enjoy you so? If you've seen the footage, of at least the edited footage of Rick Perry's address to a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire Friday night you know how funny this guy can be. He cracked himself up by simply saying he was born on a farm. He was "loose" in Mark Halpern's opinion and a great comedian in mine. I was reminded of two things: First, it was as if he was doing his own badlipreading.com spoof, and secondly, he was channelling Robert Redford in the backseat of the car between campaign stops in "The Candidate." "Vote once, vote twice, but vote for the candidate of your choice." Perhaps Perry, like Redford's character has allowed himself behind the curtain to see what the Wizard of Politics really looks like. Maybe, just maybe, Perry was so taken away with the silliness of the whole thing that he just couldn't help himself. No doubt he'll be lambasted everywhere for his "appearance", but I'd love to see him roll this out as his new campaign gambit. Silly sells. We have abundant proof of that.

So go out tonight and trick-or-treat knowing that whether your pumpkin is orange, green, or white, somewhere today something will have made you see red! And please have fun tonight because day after tomorrow is Election Day! That's a horror. BOO...